Message from Mayor Kapszukiewicz
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We are working to keep our community safe. Like all big cities, Toledo faces challenges from gun violence and the opioid crisis. These are not easy issues to address and there is not going to be a single thing that fixes the problems. But last month, we took a big step in Toledo.
The United States Justice Department announced that it would award more than $10 million in funding to support state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies. The Toledo Police Department is among the recipients receiving a $492,000 award from the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s Technology Innovation for Public Safety grant. The Toledo Police grant application proposed the implementation of technology called “ShotSpotter,” which is a real-time gunshot detection and alert system, coupled with a specially trained criminal analyst.
We already use seven gunshot detection cameras that pan to the area of a detected gunshot to capture video evidence. ShotSpotter uses acoustic sensors to detect and triangulate gunshots within a given geographic area. This is another way Toledo, like other cities across the nation, is fighting back against gun violence. ShotSpotter can assist police officers in their search for victims by identifying areas where shots were originally fired. It may help us save a life.
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On a lighter note this week, we are gearing up for the University of Toledo Homecoming this weekend and the football team's big game against BGSU.
Bowling Green Mayor Edwards and I have a wager on the game. Watch the video here for more on that.
Go Rockets!
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Mayor Kapszukiewicz, Lucas County Commissioner Tina Skeldon Wozniak, Public Services Director Paul Rasmusson, and Toledo City Council Member Nick Komives held a joint press conference to announce a county-wide public education campaign to encourage correct recycling. Members of the Toledo-Lucas County Sustainability Commission, Keep Toledo-Lucas County Beautiful, the Lucas County Solid Waste District, and Republic Services were also present.
"We are asking for our residents’ help in reducing the cost of our recycling by recycling correctly," Mr. Rasmusson said. "Toledo has a contamination rate of 44 percent — meaning 44 percent of items placed in our residents’ bins are not recyclable at the curbside. Yard waste, textiles, plastic bags, bags of bags, trash, and food waste are common contaminants, and a 10 percent reduction in contamination could save our taxpayers an average of $400,000 per year."
As part of its campaign, the city proclaimed October as "Correct Recycling Awareness Month."
Grass clippings, tree branches and other yard debris should never be placed in your recycling container. Instead, they can be put to good work. Don’t dispose of yard waste. Re-use it as fertilizer, compost, or mulch.
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No Textiles in your blue recycling containers. INSTEAD: Identify Correct Recycling options for such items. Bottom line: Donate your used clothing. If you can't, DO NOT place any clothes or other textiles in your recycling container. That stuff goes in the GRAY trash container.
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Well-known by generations of Toledoans, the former Southwyck Shopping Mall site remains poised for investment. The 58.5-acre site was recently rebranded as Hawthorne Hills and is one of the largest available construction-ready development sites in the city of Toledo. Its close proximity to several major interstates and nearby available workforce are among its best selling attributes. The importance of this site’s future to our region cannot be understated.
Over the past few months, Toledo's Business Development Division has taken steps to prepare and aggressively market the site for redevelopment. In June, Signature Associates joined the city's team as the site’s commercial real estate broker.
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The economic development partners, including the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, Lucas County, the Regional Growth Partnership of Northwest Ohio, and JobsOhio, helped develop a comprehensive marketing strategy that will be carried out by Signature.
Toledo Aerial Media created a video to help advertise the site.
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Joe E. Brown Park was officially open for fun Sept. 29. We celebrated the park’s official re-dedication with food, performances by the Scott and Woodward high school marching bands, and a softball game between the boys and girls at Scott.
Employees and volunteers from Wayman D. Palmer YMCA, the Toledo Zoo, and the Imagination Station helped with activities for children. The newly-renovated park includes news baseball fields, and there will soon be a basketball court installed.
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The park was closed during a
Toledo Waterways Initiative project to install an underground sewage storage basin.
That
36.3-million
basin helps prevent sewage overflows into the Ottawa River. TWI started in 2002 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2020.
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The city is seeking at least four people to create a Joe E. Brown Park Board. Residents living near the park should apply.
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The
Toledo-Lucas County Sustainability Commission
will participate in Waste Less Toledo, an event focused on bringing together groups who can offer solutions to food waste, raise awareness to its negative impacts, and inspire prevention and action against food waste.
Waste Less Toledo is
12 p.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 7
at the Toledo Farmers Market.
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ToleGO Bike Share,
the first public bike share program in Toledo, will launch on
Oct. 16,
Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz, Metroparks Toledo, and Gotcha announced.
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The new bike share program was made possible by generous support from Mercy Health, Owens Corning, ProMedica, and Toledo Refining Company, a grant from the Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments, and a partnership with Metroparks Toledo.
Toledo residents and visitors will have access to 100 bikes at 17 hubs within the city, available for use 24 hours a day. Riders can access bikes to pay as they go at $3 for 30 minutes, through a monthly membership for $15, or an annual membership for $69. The system is designed to enhance connectivity and serve as a first-mile/last-mile transportation solution.
The launch event will be held from
3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 16
at Middlegrounds Metropark. The launch will include a ribbon cutting, speeches from the mayor and other key partners, and a group ride with volunteers.
Anyone interested in learning more about ToleGO, can visit
toledobikeshare.com
or follow @tolegobikeshare.
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Halloween at the Library
The Toledo Lucas County Public Library is dedicating the month of October to all things spooky, scary, costumed, and candied! Check out a page-turning thriller or join us at one of our Halloween themed programs. View all the programs
here
.
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This year's Toledo PumpkinaRama will be noon-2 p.m.,
Saturday, Oct. 20
at the Ottawa Park Open Air Shelter near the Toledo Police Museum, 2145 N. Cove Blvd. Activities will include horse-drawn carriage rides, a bounce ride, and free treats for children. All activities are free and open to the public. The event is weather permitting.
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Toledo Symphony
Colors is
Saturday, Oct. 20.
One night only! This breathtaking program brings together three Russian masters of music, including the flaming colors and soaring melodies of Borodin's Polovtsian Dances. Artist Holly Carr joins the TSO on stage and creates a panoramic silk painting during a live performance of Stravinsky's Firebird Suite. More at
www.toledosymphony.com
.
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By The Numbers
(
year-to-date
)
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56,645
potholes filled
6.35 million
pounds of debris removed with street sweepers
1,894
trees trimmed
1,740
illegal signs removed
4,923
fire runs
41,928
EMS runs
7,951
building inspections completed
2,968
contractor licenses issued
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Natasha Howard
, a professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women’s National Basketball Association and a Toledo native, won her second WNBA championship on Sept. 12.
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The Toledo community is proud of Natasha’s accomplishments and has followed her career as a standout athlete at Waite High School. As a proud graduate of Toledo Public Schools, Natasha began her basketball career at Waite and was recruited by Florida State University, as the highest-ranked recruit. She is an exemplary athlete, whose skills as a leading forward are just starting to show. We enthusiastically congratulate her for winning the 2018 WNBA championship, and look forward to her continued success.
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Great thanks to Water Distribution Employee
Mark Czerniak
, who noticed a fire at the side of house and moved quickly to put out the small blaze.
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A crew was sent to fix a water service line. Upon digging the homeowner’s service, they realized the home had a lead service line. While replacing the water service line, the homeowners had to leave.
The homeowner returned and started yelling that her house was on fire. Mr. Czerniak grabbed a fire extinguisher from his truck and extinguished the flames on the side of the home while another city employee called 911.
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Municipal employees are public servants who work every day to strengthen their communities. During
Customer Service Week,
we recognize city employees who go beyond the call of duty. Since Customer Service Week is an opportunity to celebrate customer service professionals in our local government for their professionalism, integrity, and dedication, Mayor Kapszukiewicz proclaimed Oct. 1 – 5 as Customer Service Week.
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Councilwoman Yvonne Harper visited with the Engage Toledo staff on staff on Oct. 4 for Customer Service Week.
Calls from residents are filtered through to various city departments from the call center. Engage Toledo can be contacted by calling 419-936-2020.
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Toledo In The News
You & #ToledoME – Nasby Building
This is the four corners area of downtown Toledo. You have the Huntington Building, the Spitzer Building, the Nicholas Building and the Nasby. For redevelopment to really conclude down here in Toledo, you need to fix this corner and the Nasby is on the list.
City of Toledo sets $125,000 charitable giving goal
The city of Toledo’s 2,600 employees have increased their charitable giving goal for 2018. Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz and more than a dozen city employees on Monday announced their plan to raise $125,000 in a month for United Way of Greater Toledo and Community Shares, which is $25,000 more than the city pledged last year.
Jeep sales keep cranking in September
Big September sales at Jeep and Ram carried Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to an overall 15 percent monthly increase, bucking an industry slowdown. Sales for the Jeep brand in September jumped 14 percent to 83,764 vehicles. It was the sixth time this year that monthly Jeep sales exceeded 80,000 and a ninth straight month of record sales, Fiat Chrysler said in its sales release.
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